Warfield Theobald Longcope

Warfield Theobald Longcope (29 March 187725 April 1953) was an American pathologist. He served as physician-in-chief of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and president of the American Association of Immunologists, Association of American Physicians, and American Society for Clinical Investigation.

Early life and education Warfield Longcope was born in Baltimore, Maryland to George and Ruth (Theobald) Longcope. His mother's family had a long history of achievement in medicine, starting with Nathan Smith, the third graduate of Harvard College's medical department.

Longcope graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1897. In 1901 he graduated from the university's medical school, part of their fifth class of students. Among the significant influences in his education were William H. Welch and William Osler. As a result of these influences, he elected to concentrate on pathology in his post-doctoral education.

Early medical career After completing medical school, Longcope took a position as the resident pathologist at Pennsylvania Hospital's Ayer Clinical Laboratory, working under the direction of Simon Flexner. By 1904, he was the laboratory director, a position he held until 1911. Between 1909 and 1911, he was also an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In 1911, he left to become an assistant professor at Columbia University and physician at Presbyterian Hospital; by 1914, he was the medical director. Longcope was one of the founding members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and served as the organization's president in 1919.

Warfield Longcope retired from active practice in 1946. He died of emphysema in 1953, at his farm in Lee, Massachusetts.